Rosalyn Carter To Speak In City

Promoters of a women's health conference in Hartford on Wednesday hope that when Rosalyn Carter talks, lots of people listen.

Never mind that the former first lady is promoting her new book, ``Helping Someone with Mental Illness,'' and that the focus of the conference is life after menopause.

Carter, the keynote speaker at the conference, is a famous grandmother whose household name alone, sponsors hope, will add cachet to issues that many women still only whisper about.

So what if Carter will not directly address those issues -- menopause, osteoporosis, estrogen replacement therapy.

``I'm always looking for women that we baby-boomer women will find as a draw, that we look up to and will be very interested in,'' said Cynthia Adams, associate dean of the University of Connecticut's School of Allied Health, a sponsor of the conference along with Pfizer Inc. and the UConn Alumni Association.

Adams has organized eight previous conferences aimed at women over 40, and Carter, she said, is the most famous guest.

``I think there are so many issues that affect women, and in my book I have a little subdivision on women's issues and how, whether, mental illnesses affect women more than they do men,'' Carter said in a telephone interview. ``And I think the conclusion is that women and men have a different way of handling situations and reacting to mental illnesses.''

Carter became interested in mental health issues while helping her husband, Jimmy, campaign for governor of Georgia in 1970. All along the campaign trail, people told her stories of problems getting help for their mentally ill relatives.

When Jimmy Carter took office, he put his wife in charge of improving mental health services in the state. She continued her work as honorary chairwoman of the President's Commission on Mental Health when her husband was in the White House from 1977 to 1980.

After Carter speaks, the focus of the conference will shift to physical health after menopause, with experts discussing issues including cancer, the effects of hormone replacement therapy, and osteoporosis.